Does Your Customer Service Match Lego’s?

Most of the time, it is better to give a customer more than what he or she asks for. Especially if it benefits an entire family.

If you grew up playing with Legos, you know that pieces get lost. Lego’s customer service team apparently understands what it’s like to be a kid who loves building things with Legos and who hates losing an important piece. 

Here’s a transcript of an interaction between Lego’s customer service and a seven-year-old boy named Luka who lost a Lego guy. Luka wrote:

Hello. My name is Luka and I am seven years old. With all my money I got for Christmas, I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. The number is 9449. It is really good. My Daddy just took me to Sainsburys and told me to leave the people at home but I took them and I lost Jay ZX at the shop as it fell out of my coat. I am really upset I have lost him. Daddy said to send you an email to see if you will send me another one. I promise I won’t take him to the shop again if you can. Thank you.

Here’s the cute and relevant reply from the Lego customer service team:

Thanks for sending us an email!

We are very sorry to hear about you losing your Jay mini figure but it sounds like your dad might have been right about leaving it at home. It sounds like you are very sad about it too.
Normally we would ask that you pay for a new one if you lose on of your mini figures and need to have it replaced. My bosses told me I could not send you one out for free because you lost it but, I decided that I would put a call into Sensei Wu to see if he could help me.

Luka, I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay mini figure was purely an accident and that you would never ever ever let it happen ever again. he told me to tell you, “Luka your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago mini figures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!” Sensei Wu also told me it was ok if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan.

So, I hope you enjoy your Jay mini figure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay mini figure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight!

Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your mini figures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your dad.

You will see an envelope from LEGO within the next two weeks with your new mini figures. Please take good care of them, Luka. Remember that you promised to always leave them at home.

There are a few things we can learn here:

1. Treat your customers better than how they expect you to treat them. People may find out and you will become a customer service hero too!
2. Treat them better in the way they want to be treated. Don’t give them a free peanut butter cookie if you aren’t sure whether or not they are allergic to peanut butter. The Lego team know what he liked based on the letter he wrote and acted accordingly.
3. Have fun with your customers – even if it’s a bad situation – while maintaining a high level of respect for them. The quicker you can turn their frown upside down, the better.
4. Make them aware that this is a one-time deal (even though it might not be). This will keep people from taking advantage of you and your company’s good nature.

Thanks to Thrillist for their article about Luca’s letter.